Wednesday, October 8, 2025
“You’re blessed
when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment
you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.” (Matthew 5:5, The Message Bible)
Either way, the verse leapt to
mind, yesterday, after watching a few sound bites of the Carney/Trump meeting
in Washington. Believe me, I try to watch as few clips about Trump as I possibly
can. But there they were on the news, front and centre at the White House. Trump
had just made the comment that Carney was a great leader. When asked why then
he didn’t make a trade deal with Canada, Trump said, “I want to be a great leader,
too.” It was about as close as Trump will ever get to some level of modesty and
that may be stretching it. He certainly is not known for having any sense of meekness,
humility or modesty.
But it sparked some thoughts about
humility or meekness. Many see meekness as weakness, a character flaw. But, in truth,
humility is not a form of humiliation. It is not timidity. It is not a lack of self-confidence.
It is not fear of others. It doesn’t mean being pushed around or bullied. It is not a reluctance to express an opinion.
It does not mean that one is not bold or
brave when the moment calls for it. It is not wavering or cowardice. In fact, I think it takes a lot of courage and
inner strength to be humble in life.
But what is humility at its best?
The Psalmist wrote that God “leads the humble in doing right, teaching them
his way.” (Psalm 25:9) Humility begins in having the right mind set about doing
what is right and good. This verse jibes with the one from Micah: “the Lord
has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is
right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) We may
have been made a little lower than the angels but we gain our appropriate self-perspective
in our relationship with God. “The humble will see their God at work and be
glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.” (Psalm 69:32) Meekness
is the understanding that our true and best identity begins in God and not ourselves.
“For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.”
(Psalm 149:4)
Being humble is the self-understanding
that we are certainly not the centre of the universe or even the little corner in
which we live. Our humility practices good and positive relationships. “Always
be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each
other’s faults because of your love.” (Ephesians 4:2) There is no room for conceit,
arrogance, self-importance, but rather we understand that we are not perfect
and therefore we reach out to love others just as unconditionally as God has
loved us. “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble,
thinking of others as better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)
What the Message paraphrase captures
so well is that humility means to be content with just who you are. It does not mean that we don’t need to grow,
learn, improve, or discover fresh insights; even Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature
and in favour with God and all the people.” (Luke 2:52) But humility helps us
keep an honest perspective about ourselves. In humility, we learn to be satisfied
with who we are, what we are doing and how we are doing it. Humility cuts out
envy and jealousy. It replaces pride with a spirit of well-being and inner peace
(i.e. shalom). Our humility engages all others with love, tolerance, respect and
grace.
In the end, humility gives us what riches, fame or power cannot – the Love of God in Jesus Christ and our salvation. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:10)
Dale
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